From: The European Invasion of North America: Colonial Conflict Along the Hudson- Champlain Corridor, 1609-1760 by Michael Laramie (2012). (The setting is the Heights above Fort Carillon where the battle will occur in two days). Page 385.
Montcalm thanked the officers for their report and turned next to Captain Pontleroy of the Royal Engineers, who had prepared a report on the state of Fort Carillion (Ticonderoga). Pontleroy painted a dismal picture of the stronghold and its prospects of withstanding a siege. In the engineer's opinion the fort was poorly laid out and poorly constructed. Although there was only one logical approach toward the fort, which being where they now stood, the fort had been constructed in such a fashion that only two guns could be brought to bear against enemy batteries erected in this position. Not that it mattered, the ramparts were too narrow on this side, and as a result, there was not enough room for the recoil of the cannons. To cover this defect, a pair of demilunes had been constructed along the two walls open to attack. Unfortunately, these had been built so high that they screened the gun embrasures along each of the curtain walls, making firing from the curtain walls nearly impossible. The casements that would hold the garrison, their food, and their munitions during the siege were too small, too damp, and possessed inadequate overhead protection. The place of arms was too small as well, but again this hardy mattered. The stone barracks were two stories high and overlooked the parapets on the walls (my clarification: the walls of the barracks were at least 5-6 feet taller than the top of the parapets). Shot and shell directed against these buildings would shower the place of arms and the ramparts with rock splinters, making it impossible to for the garrison to appear in either place. Also, because the fort was too small, much of the garrison's supplies were housed in vulnerable sheds and buildings outside the fort. "Were I entrusted with the siege of it," the engineers finished, "I should only require six mortars and two cannon."
Loved this description from this volume so much, I just had to share. I am really enjoying this read. Little wonder why Montcalm chose to conduct his defense away from the fort itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Carillon
Montcalm thanked the officers for their report and turned next to Captain Pontleroy of the Royal Engineers, who had prepared a report on the state of Fort Carillion (Ticonderoga). Pontleroy painted a dismal picture of the stronghold and its prospects of withstanding a siege. In the engineer's opinion the fort was poorly laid out and poorly constructed. Although there was only one logical approach toward the fort, which being where they now stood, the fort had been constructed in such a fashion that only two guns could be brought to bear against enemy batteries erected in this position. Not that it mattered, the ramparts were too narrow on this side, and as a result, there was not enough room for the recoil of the cannons. To cover this defect, a pair of demilunes had been constructed along the two walls open to attack. Unfortunately, these had been built so high that they screened the gun embrasures along each of the curtain walls, making firing from the curtain walls nearly impossible. The casements that would hold the garrison, their food, and their munitions during the siege were too small, too damp, and possessed inadequate overhead protection. The place of arms was too small as well, but again this hardy mattered. The stone barracks were two stories high and overlooked the parapets on the walls (my clarification: the walls of the barracks were at least 5-6 feet taller than the top of the parapets). Shot and shell directed against these buildings would shower the place of arms and the ramparts with rock splinters, making it impossible to for the garrison to appear in either place. Also, because the fort was too small, much of the garrison's supplies were housed in vulnerable sheds and buildings outside the fort. "Were I entrusted with the siege of it," the engineers finished, "I should only require six mortars and two cannon."
Loved this description from this volume so much, I just had to share. I am really enjoying this read. Little wonder why Montcalm chose to conduct his defense away from the fort itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Carillon